Correspondence

The Police Pension scheme: miscellaneous

Home Office circular 003 / 2003 THE POLICE PENSION SCHEME-MISCELLANEOUS Broad subject: Police Service Issue date: Thu Jan 30 00:00:00…

From:
Home Office
Published
30 January 2003

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Details

Home Office circular 003 / 2003

THE POLICE PENSION SCHEME-MISCELLANEOUS

  • Broad subject: Police Service
  • Issue date: Thu Jan 30 00:00:00 GMT 2003
  • From:
    POLICING & CRIME REDUCTION GROUP Police Personnel Unit
  • Linked circulars:
    No Linked Circulars

  • Copies sent to:
    Clerks to the Police Authorities

  • Sub category: Police Pay and Conditions
  • Implementation date: Thu Jan 30 00:00:00 GMT 2003
  • For more info contact:
    Ian Moir
  • Addressed to:
    The Justices’ Clerks’ Society

Dear Chief Officer
This circular advises on the following pensions matters:

A. 2003 Pensions Increase and Multiplier Tables
B. Medical Appeals-referees’ fees & expenses.
C. Medical Appeals guidance - Assessment of Degree of Disablement
D. Police Officers who are members of Volunteer Reserve Forces.

It should be brought to the immediate attention of the administrators of the Police Pension Scheme, payroll officers, force personnel officers and police medical appeals co-ordinators as a matter of urgency.

A.

2003 Pensions Increase and Multiplier Tables

  1. The Pensions Increase (Review) Order 2003 will provide for public service pensions to be increased by 1.7% from 7 April 2003. Details are given at Appendix A.

  2. Police Authorities are reminded that in accordance with the provisions of Regulation E10 of the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 and Schedule 12 to the Police Pensions Regulations of 1971 and 1973, as amended, widows flate rate pensions and childrens’ flat rate allowances are increased directly by orders made under Section 59 of the Social Security Act 1975 (as amended). These awards may accordingly be increased by 1.7% on 7 April 2003.

  3. Home Office Circular 6/1996 gave details of the 1996 Pensions Increase Review Order. A note on the operation of pensions increase legislation was included at Appendix 2 to that Circular. This guidance continues to apply and should be referred to when applying pensions increase legislation.

B. Medical Appeals - Referees’ Fees and Expenses

  1. HOC 52/2001 gave details of the calculation of fees paid to consultants who act as medical referees. With effect from 1 March 2003 a new limit of £735 (plus allowance for reasonable expenses) per medical is being introduced. This is line with the recommendations of the BMA. From that date police authorities will also be able to approve - without reference to the Home Office - referees’ reasonable expenses where these do not exceed a new limit of £185. HOC 10/1999 gave information as to what might be classed as reasonable expenses. In any case where the referees expenses exceed £185, the Home Office will need to give approval. This will be the final increase in fees prior to the introduction of the Regional Boards of Medical Referees. **

C. Medical Appeals guidance - Assessment of Degree of Disablement

  1. **Where an application is made for an injury award immediately after medical retirement, the police salary earned when last serving will still be relevant without the need for adjustment for inflation. In cases where an injury award is made under Regulation B4, or reviewed under K4, some time after the individual has left the force, we advise against entering into considerations such as whether the officer would have been promoted had he or she not been medically retired.

  2. Therefore the assessment of degree of disablement should be based on actual police earnings prior to retirement. In the case of an after-appearing injury or a K2 review, the medical retirement may have occurred a considerable period in the past. In such cases we consider that the former police salary should be revalued to current police pay levels to the equivalent point on the salary scale for the rank concerned. This will allow for full account to be taken of the effect of inflation during the intervening period and so enable a fair comparison to be made with outside jobs and salaries.

D. Police Officers who are members of Volunteer Reserve Forces

  1. HOCs 11/1991, 34/1996 and 52/2001 gave information of the position of officers who are called up as a result of their being members of volunteer reserve forces. The information contained in these Circulars is still relevant.

  2. Police officers called up for service as reservists will have their period spent abroad reckonable as pensionable service provided they continue to pay their 11% pension
    contributions in the normal manner under Regulation I8. The “Servicemen” provisions in
    Part I allow police officers who become permanently disabled for police duties to be paid the ill-health award which they would have received had the disablement occurred during a period of police service. Where the disablement results from an injury on duty as a “serviceman” police authorities have discretion to make up the total pension payments received from the police and armed forces scheme to the level which would have been payable had the injury occurred on police duty. Similar arrangements apply to dependants benefits where the qualifying injury results in death. The Ministry of Defence will reimburse police authorities for the costs of employers pensions contributions of such officers whilst abroad.

JOHN GILBERT
Police Pensions & Retirement Policy Section

Attachments

Published 30 January 2003